THEGAYUK

Category: News

  • Man arrested in connection to Grindr attacks

    Man arrested in connection to Grindr attacks

    Officers have been investigating three separate attempted carjacking incidents that occurred after the victims engaged with a man they had met on the online dating app Grindr.

    At around 7pm on Monday 25 March 2019, a man in his 50s was threatened in his own home in Irlam o’ th’ Height by a man armed with a knife who demanded he hand over his car keys.

    Around an hour later on Bury Old Road in Prestwich, a man in his 40s was held at knifepoint by a man who again demanded his car keys.

    The victim suffered several cuts to his throat, back and forearm and was taken to hospital for treatment. He has since been released and is recovering at home.

    The following day (Tuesday 26 March 2019), the third victim, a man in his 20s, was threatened in his car that was parked on Bolton Road in Pendlebury.

    The alleged attacker, who was a passenger in the car during the assault, stabbed the man several times after demanding he hand over his car keys.

    The man was taken to hospital with serious injuries and remains in a stable condition.

    A 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of robbery and two section 18 assaults. He remains in custody for questioning.

    Man will be questioned by detectives

    Chief Inspector Amanda Delamore, of GMP’s Salford district, said, “We now have a man in custody who will be questioned by my team in the coming hours as our enquiries continue.

    “Our thoughts remain with the three victims who have all been left incredibly shaken by their ordeals and officers will continue to provide them with support at this distressing time.

    “Our investigation does not stop here and I would continue to urge anyone with any information that could assist us to please get in touch with police.”

    Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 5194 or 101 quoting reference number 1764 of 26/03/2019.

    Reports can also be made anonymously, via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

  • Someone is targeting gay men on Grindr, attacking them and trying to steal their cars

    Someone is targeting gay men on Grindr, attacking them and trying to steal their cars

    Police are continuing to investigate after three men were attacked by a man they began speaking to on the Grindr online dating application.

    In each of the three incidents in or around Salford, Manchester, the offender also unsuccessfully attempted to steal the victims’ cars.

    The incidents are being treated as linked and police believe the same man is responsible for each of the crimes.

    A CCTV image has been released of a man police want to speak to in connection with the attacks.

    As well as appealing for potential witnesses, officers are directly appealing to users of the Grindr app who may have encountered the man pictured, or fallen victim to someone they met on the application.

    The first victim, a man in his 50s, was threatened in his own home in Irlam o’ th’ Height shortly before 7pm om Monday 25 March 2019 by a man with a knife who demanded that he hand over his car keys. The offender failed to start the car and fled the scene.

    An hour later in Prestwich, a man in his 40s had a knife held to his throat by an offender on Bury Old Road who demanded the victim’s car keys.

    The man received small cuts to his throat, back and forearm and was taken to hospital for treatment, where he remains in a stable condition.

    The third man, aged in his 20s, was attacked at around 5.45pm on Tuesday 26 March 2019.

    He was threatened by a man who was a passenger in his car on Bolton Road, Pendlebury as they were parked on the roadside. He demanded he hand over his car keys before stabbing him several times.

    The attacker then fled the scene on foot in the direction of Birch Drive towards High Bank Road.

    The victim remains in hospital with serious injuries that are not believed to be life threatening.

    “Attacks became progressively more violent”

    geralt / Pixabay

    Chief Inspector Amanda Delamore of GMP’s Salford Division said, “We believe that the same person is responsible for these premediated acts of violence.

    “The injuries inflicted upon these men became progressively more violent with each attack and it’s imperative that anyone with information on these crimes contact us immediately.

    “As well as appealing for witnesses, I’d like to appeal to anyone who uses Grindr and recognises the man in the image we’ve released to get in touch as a matter of urgency.

    “Like other forms of online communication; dating applications carry risks.

    “We’d urge people to be cautious when agreeing to meet strangers they have been speaking to online.

    “Always meet someone new in a public place first, let someone know where you’re going and never give out personal information to someone you’ve just met.”

    Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 8172 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

  • Man stabbed in his car by man he met on a gay dating app

    Man stabbed in his car by man he met on a gay dating app

    Police in Greater Manchester are looking a man in connection to a horrific stabbing of a man in his car, after using a gay dating app.

    The victim, who is in his 20s was stabbed several times by a man he had planned to meet on a dating app, police in Manchester have said.

    The police have released a CCTV image of a man they’d like to speak to in connection to the incident.

    At around 5.45pm on Tuesday 26 March 2019), a man in his 20s was threatened in his car on Bolton Road in Pendlebury by a man he had met up with earlier this afternoon via an online dating app.

    The alleged offender, who was a passenger in the car, threatened the man as they were parked on the roadside and demanded his victim hand over his car keys before stabbing him several times.

    The attacker then fled the scene on foot in the direction of Birch Drive towards High Bank Road, police say.

    The victim was taken to hospital with serious injuries and he remains there for treatment.

    This incident is being linked to two other carjacking attempts that occurred yesterday (Monday 25 March 2019) in Irlams o’ th’ Height, Salford and Prestwich.

    Three dating app attacks have occurred

    CREDIT: Ryazan / BIGSTOCK

    Detectives have released a CCTV image of a man they want to speak to as part of their enquiries.

    Detective Inspector Gareth Jenkins, of GMP’s Salford district, said: “This is now the third attack following an attempted carjacking after an online dating app meeting and we’re working hard to find the man responsible.

    “We have a CCTV image of a man we want to speak to as part of our investigation and I would appeal directly to the man to get in touch with us.

    “We would also continue to encourage people using dating apps to always meet new people in public places and to let someone know where you’re going.

    “If you have any information that could assist our investigation or if you recognise the man pictured, please get in touch as soon as possible.”

    Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 5194 or 101 quoting reference number 1764 of 26/03/2019.

     

    Reports can also be made anonymously, via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

  • The Color Purple Actor dropped from show after anti-gay Facebook post surfaces

    The Color Purple Actor dropped from show after anti-gay Facebook post surfaces

    Seyi Omooba axed from the theatrical tour of the Curve and Birmingham Hippodrome production of The Color Purple after “homophobic” Facebook post surfaces.

    Actor Seyi Omooba has been dropped from the production of The Color Purple after a Facebook post from 2014 in which she said that she did “not believe homosexuality is right” went viral on social media.

    The Facebook post from 2014 went viral when actor Aaron Lee shared a screenshot on Twitter saying Omooba owed an explanation to the gay community for her words.

    In the post, Omooba said that she does not believe people “can be born gay”.

    She added, “I do not believe homosexuality is right, though the law of this land has made it legal doesn’t mean its [sic] right.”

    Curve and Birmingham Hippodrome said that Omooba “will no longer be involved with the production” after admitting that the post had “caused significant and widely expressed concerns”.

    The statement reads,

    “On Friday 15 March a social media post dating from 2014, which was written by the The Color Purple cast member Seyi Omooba, was re-posted on Twitter. The comments made by Seyi in that post have caused significant and widely expressed concerns both on social media and in the wider press.

    “Following careful reflection it has been decided that Seyi will no longer be involved with the production. This decision was supported by the Authors and Theatrical Rights Worldwide.

    “The audition process, as ever, was conducted professionally and rigorously, led by an exceptional casting director with actors who are evaluated on what they present in the audition room. We do not operate a social media screening process in the casting of actors”.

  • Education expert warns drama, music and sports for girls will be next if No Outsiders isn’t reinstated

    Education expert warns drama, music and sports for girls will be next if No Outsiders isn’t reinstated

    As more schools announce that they are suspending the No Outsiders programme, an education expert says that the lessons must continue “in the community where it is most needed.”

    Speaking to THEGAYUK the University of Birmingham’s Colin Diamond says that the No Outsiders lessons must continue after four more schools in Birmingham followed in the footsteps of Parkfield Primary School and stopped the teaching of LGBT rights following complaints by parents.

    The No Outsiders lesson was the brainchild of Andrew Moffat, where the ethos was to promote LGBT+, disability, religious and gender equality and to help students question transphobia and homophobia in primary schools.

    He said, “We must be resolute and hold to the values of the Equalities Act and the Birmingham Curriculum Statement. Local dialogue is essential – but there are red lines here. No Outsiders and in particular the teaching of LGBT issues must continue.

    No music, drama and girls’ participation in sports

    RemazteredStudio / Pixabay

    In a stark warning, Diamond warns that if no action is taken that subjects such as music and drama could be wiped from the ciriculum could be wiped from UK schools.

    If No Outsiders did not continue in school Diamond added, “If it does not, I guarantee that the next targets will be music, drama, liberal humanities and girls’ participation in sports.

    “No Outsiders is taking off in schools across the UK: it needs to continue to thrive in the community where it is most needed.”

  • AfterEllen.com acquired by new owners

    AfterEllen.com acquired by new owners

    The site AllenEllen.com for lesbian and bisexual women has been acquired by new owners

    AllenEllen.com has been acquired by a company called Lesbian Nation, a limited liability company, privately owned by Memoree Joelle and Gaye Chapman. Speaking about the acquisition Joelle wrote, “We purchased AfterEllen because we wanted to ensure that the site is around for many years to come. There is nothing else like AfterEllen out there, as we see it as the only media site that caters content specifically for lesbian and bi women.

    “To that end, we are proud to represent lesbians, being lesbians ourselves, who we feel are a very underrepresented minority today”.

    The amount the duo paid for the company has not been made public. At the time of sale, AfterEllen has 123,000 followers on Twitter, 112,000 followers on Facebook. According to SimilarWeb, it is the most read website for lesbian and bisexual women.

    Joelle continued,

    “So will there be changes? Well, yes and no. I have served as Editor in Chief since 2016, and that will stay the same, so the content of the site won’t be changing much. What will be different is that, as a new business that is independently owned, we will be focusing on quality over quantity of content in our early days. Our business intention is to grow slowly, so it may be a few more months until we expand with videos and increase our celebrity interviews…but those are definitely coming! In fact, many exciting things are in store, and we have YOU to thank for reading the site, commenting, and sharing articles.

  • Parkfield School caves into the demands of protesting parents over LGBT+ lessons

    Parkfield School caves into the demands of protesting parents over LGBT+ lessons

    “Until a resolution can be reached No Outsiders will no longer be taught at Parkfield”

    The school at the centre of a row over teaching children about LGBT+ relationships has cancelled its lessons, THEGAYUK has learned. Parents of children at Parkfield Primary School in Birmingham, had been planning another protest outside the school this morning, but have called off the demonstration after the school said it would no longer offer the lessons, which taught primary school-aged children about same-sex relationships and gender expressions.

    The parents claim that the lessons infringe on their religious beliefs and that the lessons amounted to indoctrination of their children.  Around 98 percent of the school’s population are Muslim.

    A statement on the School’s website stated,

    “Nothing is more important than ensuring our children’s education continues uninterrupted.

    “Yesterday, both parents and the trust held constructive discussions with the Regional Schools Commissioner, and as a result of these discussions we are eager to continue to work together with parents, over the coming days and weeks to find a solution that will support the children in our school to continue their education in a harmonious environment.

    “Until a resolution has been reached, No Outsiders lessons will not be taught at Parkfield and we hope that children will not be removed from school to take part in protests.”

    “No evidence” that lessons weren’t age-appropriate

    In a report released earlier this week, Ofsted said there was no evidence the curriculum overly focused on LGBT issues and that it is taught in an age-appropriate way. In reality, the lessons focus on race, religion, gender identity, age and disabilities. Despite this, the No Outsiders programme has caused many parents of children at the school to demonstrate and around 600 children were removed from classes by their guardians at the beginning of March 2019.

    Parents “Welcome” the move

    In a statement on the Alumrock Community group, parents wrote that they welcomed the move and demanded that a new programme needed to be “negotiated”, writing

    We, the representatives of Parkfield Parents Group have had a positive meeting with the Department of Education to discuss serious concerns we have with the ‘No Outsiders’ programme and its implentation at Parkfield School.

    We made our position clear, that the No Outsiders programme cannot continue to be taught at Parkfield School and that a new programme needs be negotiated, with which parents are happy and meets the legal requirements of the Equality Act 2010.

    The school have agreed that “Until a resolution has been reached , No Outsiders lessons will not be taught at Parkfield”.

    In view of this development, we have decided to postpone the protest for Thursday 14th March 2019. We will await further developments early next week when we expect detailed proposals to be tabled. We will then review our actions with respect to protests and schoolwide withdrawal of children.

    We have advised and notified parents that the protest scheduled for Thursday 14th March 2019 is not taking place and that we are keeping future protests under review inview of developments.

    We welcome these developments and reiterate that the school needs to work with parents in a spirit of partnership and cooperation and not against them in educating their children.

     

     

     

  • Parkfield parents in Birmingham plan to protest LGBT+ equality lessons again

    Parkfield parents in Birmingham plan to protest LGBT+ equality lessons again

    Parents of children at Parkfield Primary School are planning another protest outside the school over LGBT+ equality lessons.

    It’s a sad state of affairs as parents of children who attend the Parkfield Community School in Birmingham are set to demonstrate outside the school on Thursday morning from 8:20 AM till 9:20 AM, despite an Ofsted report that states that the lessons are age appropriate.

    Parents from the school who are apparently 98 per cent Muslim have questioned the age appropriateness of the lessons and argue that they had not been consulted with over the lessons, which have been labelled as “toxic”.

    Parents of children at the Parkfield Primary School in Birmingham have said that they will protest outside the school grounds every Thursday until the equality lessons, called No Outsiders, dealing with social issues, including LGBT+ relationships are cancelled permanently.  In reality, the lessons focus on race, religion, gender identity, age and disabilities.

    The school is due to provide just five of its No Outsiders lessons for its students over the course of the year.

    A poster, which is advertising’s the protest outside the school is being shared on Facebook.

    At the beginning of March around 600 children were removed by their parents in protest to the planned lessons. The school has said that it will continue with the lessons next term.

  • Gay dating app, Growlr just got sold for a lot of $$$s

    Gay dating app, Growlr just got sold for a lot of $$$s

    GROWLr just got sold Y’all!

    GROWLr has become the latest dating app, aimed at gay and bi men to be sold, and it was sold for some big $$$s!

    Although the amount paid for it is dwarfed by the amount paid by a Chinese gaming firm for Grindr, the buyers still parted with nearly $12,000,000 ($11.8m) for GROWLr and that’s not to be sniffed at. This also means the app is no longer gay-owned or operated and becomes an “acquired property” of the much larger company, The Meet Group.

    Currently, GROWLr has around 10 million users of which 200,000 of them use the app daily.

    Speaking about the acquisition, Geoff Cook, the CEO of The Meet Group, said, “In addition to reporting a strong quarter, I’m excited to announce the acquisition of Growlr, which provides a meaningful step into the large same-sex dating market and expands the base of users to whom we can deliver our live video product,

    “We are thrilled to add Growlr to The Meet Group portfolio,” said Cook.

    “Similar to what we have done with our other acquired properties, we plan to be aggressive in bringing our video model to Growlr. We expect to begin rolling out live video on Growlr in the fourth quarter of 2019.

    “We also see opportunities to grow advertising revenue on the app, and we plan to further invest in user acquisition to expand brand awareness and reach.”

  • Ofsted says “No evidence” that Birmingham School’s No Outsiders lessons are age-inappropriate

    Ofsted says “No evidence” that Birmingham School’s No Outsiders lessons are age-inappropriate

    Ofsted has said there was no evidence the curriculum overly focused on LGBT issues and that it is taught in an age-appropriate way.

    Parents at the Parkfield Primary school in Birmingham had criticised the school’s No Outsiders lessons as age-inappropriate over some of its focus on LGBT+ relationships and gender expressions, but a report today from Ofsted has now said that the lessons are not taught in an age-inappropriate manner and do not overtly focus on LGBT+ issues.

    In reality, the lessons focus on race, religion, gender identity, age and disabilities. Despite this, the lessons have caused many parents of children at the school to demonstrate outside the school and around 600 children were removed from classes by their guardians at the beginning of March 2019.

    Headteacher David Williams described the report as “great news”, according to the BBC.

    The inspection by Ofsted was arranged after parents said that they were concerned over the leadership at the school.

    In his report, Ofsted’s senior inspector Peter Humphries said, “A very small, but vocal, minority of parents are not clear about the school’s vision, policies and practice.

    “This group of parents feel that staff do not sufficiently listen to their concerns.

    “Their view is that PSHE education and equalities curriculum focuses disproportionately on LGBT issues and that this work is not taught in an age-appropriate manner.

    “Inspectors found no evidence this was the case.”

     

  • Hunky Country Music star comes out in new music vid

    Hunky Country Music star comes out in new music vid

    Cameron Hawthorn becomes one of the latest country music stars to come out.

    The Country music singer, Cameron Hawthorn has used his latest music video to “Dancing In The Living Room” to reveal to his fans that he’s in a relationship with another man.

    In the video, a range of couples are seen romantically dancing in their own homes and one of the couples happens to be Cameron and his partner, who join together and slow dance in their very own living room.

    “I remember always thinking how special it was to dance freely with my boyfriend in the living room of our apartment,” he tells The Advocate.

    “Being gay, it’s not as easy to dance as a couple in public together as it is for a straight couple. I wanted to express how special that moment is for a couple when it’s just the two of you in the privacy of your own four walls.”

    Cameron joins a handful of out Country singers including, Billy Gillman and Ty Herndon who both came out in 2014. In the early 20-teens, Steve Grand made global headlines when he became the first male country singer to come out as gay.